Dr. Ellen Gritz Elected to the Institute of Medicine American Legacy Foundation® Vice Chair Elected to the Institute of Medicine The American Legacy Foundation® is proud to announce that the Vice Chair of its Board of Directors, Dr. Ellen R. Gritz, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine. She will join 64 other new members and four foreign associates in this honor. The Institute of Medicine is a nonprofit organization created for science-based advice on matters of biomedical science, medicine, and health, an honorific membership organization. The Institute provides unbiased, evidence-based, and authoritative information and advice concerning health and science policy to policymakers, professionals, leaders in every sector of society, and the public at large. Dr. Gritz is a professor and chairman of the Department of Behavioral Science and Olla S. Stribling Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where she has been a faculty member since 1993. Prior to that, Gritz was a professor of Head & Neck Surgery at the University of California in Los Angeles. From 1986-1993 she served as director of the Division of Cancer Control in the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Throughout her tenure on our board and in her current role as Vice Chair, Dr. Gritz' expertise on cancer has been invaluable to our mission to educate Americans about the serious toll of tobacco and tobacco-related disease in our country," said foundation President and CEO, Cheryl Healton, Dr. PH. "Membership to The Institute of Medicine is an extraordinary honor and through her notable career in academia and public health, Dr. Gritz has truly demonstrated her passion for medicine and research." The Institute of Medicine's distinguished groups of members are elected on the basis of their professional achievement. Current active members elect new members from among candidates nominated for their commitment and achievements both in their professions and in service.